


Lost In The Echo

by Lone_Wolf_Fanfics



Series: Wings Series [1]
Category: Captain America (Comics), Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Iron Man (Comics), Iron Man (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Awesome Jarvis (Iron Man movies), Bucky Barnes Sister, Bucky Barnes Twin Sister, Crying, Cryogenics, Desert, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enhanced, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Flying, Homelessness, Human Experimentation, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, Hydra (Marvel), Iron Man 1, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark Friendship, Kidnapping, Mood Swings, Mutant Powers, Mutants, Near Death Experiences, Original Character(s), Protective Jarvis (Iron Man movies), Sneaky Jarvis (Iron Man movies), Stealing, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Wings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-29
Updated: 2020-01-05
Packaged: 2020-02-09 18:30:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 18,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18643687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lone_Wolf_Fanfics/pseuds/Lone_Wolf_Fanfics
Summary: Book One Wings SeriesEvie finds herself waking up in a world she barely recognizes with abilities forced upon her. Whilst stumbling through the desert recovering she is found by The Ten Rings and subdued.Now living in a cave with two other men Evie must put her trust in them to escape whilst fighting to survive.Relying on Tony Stark could be the worst decision of her life. Or the best.





	1. Crystal Evelyn Barnes

**Birth Name:**  Crystal Evelyn Barnes

 **Nickname** : Evie (Most) EB (With Bucky – Only by Steve) Angel (Tony - Eventually)

 

 **S.H.N:**  Dark Angel(IM)/Angel(IM2)/Archangel (A1)/Phoenix(IM3 +) (Eventually)

 

 **Birth:** March 10th, 1917

 **Age** : 91 (2008) (Physically (29))

 

**Appearance:**

**Hair:**  Dark Brown

 **Eyes:**  Depends on her mood (See Powers page)

 **Height:**  5ft 7

 **Cast:**  Nina Dobrev (I was going to use Phoebe Tonkin but then I realized I already have two series with her as the OFC)

 

**Family:**

George Barnes (Father) - deceased

Winifred Barnes (Mother) - deceased

**James Buchanan Barnes (Twin Brother)**

Rebecca Barnes (Younger Sister) - deceased

**Steve Rogers (Best Friend)**

 

**History:**

Evie was born the second child of George and Winifred Barnes. The twin sister of James and the older sister of Rebecca.

After the death of her brother and the MIA notice of her best friend, Evie ghosted through the next year, alone. After which she signed up for a volunteer opportunity for a new vitamin drug. It was a lie.

Instead, she was taken to a black site where she was then experimented on. She wouldn't know at the time and wouldn't for many years, but this was a Hydra facility.

As the only 'perfect' result of Project Angel, Evie was considered the perfect specimen and put on ice until they could successfully repeat the results. They wouldn't.

**As of the beginning of this. She is still in cryo.**

 

**Physical Appearance**

Evie is an extraordinarily beautiful and seductive young woman: she has an oval face with fine bone structure, a wealth of dark brown curly hair, and almond-shaped, color changing eyes with thick dark lashes.

Whilst at the Hydra facility she was always dressed in a camisole that cut off at her thighs. This is what she was frozen in.

Back in the real world, Evie will start with loose-fitting black clothing, usually covering herself with an oversized black hoodie and scarf with combat boots or sneakers.

As she evolves and adapts to the modern world her clothing will adapt with her. Showing her growing up.

 

**Personality:**

In her early life, Evie was a young and beautiful girl and quite capable of making independent and intelligent choices. Evie was a caring and polite person. She was quick to adapt to changes and enjoyed socializing and playing games with others. Evie was also known to fall quick for men and yearned to be in the affections of others, even declaring to Steve that life was not worth living if they did not believe in love.

After the loss of her twin brother, Evie spiraled into a hole of drinking and men.

Eventually volunteering believing that she was to be part of a beneficial experiment, it could be considered that she was still a little naïve.

Coming out of the ice she will be disorientated and confused.

**Debating taking her memories until Avengers when she re-meets Steve. And that nickname from Tony sticks for more than one reason, because she doesn't know her real one.**

 

 **Pairing:** Tony Stark


	2. Powers and Abilities

**Artificially Enhanced Physiology** : Evie was subjected to numerous experimentations that enhanced and changed her physiology whilst part of Project Angel. It is believed she was subjected to levels of a variation of the Super Soldier Serum, that was fused with avian DNA. Evie was one of 10 successful test subjects, but Evie was the perfect result.

 **Enhanced Strength:** Evie's physical strength is immensely enhanced to the early levels of a superhuman condition by a series of treatments performed on her by HYDRA scientists.

 **Enhanced Durability:**  Evie's bones and muscles are apparently more resilient than a normal human's.

 **\- Hollow Skeleton:**  Evie's bones are hollow, making them lighter, faster and more agile than they appear.

 **Enhanced Speed:**  Evie's speed is tremendously enhanced beyond the peak of human potential, moving into the early levels of superhuman condition. Evie's speed is equal to the Winter Soldier, Black Panther and Captain America on foot, but in the sky, she bypasses them all on speed.

 **Enhanced Agility:**  Evie's enhanced agility is superior to even Olympic gold medalists. This helps her dip and dive through the sky whilst flying.

 **Enhanced Stamina:** Evie's musculature produces far fewer fatigue toxins during physical activity than the musculature of an ordinary human, allowing her to exert herself at peak capacity for hours before tiring.

 **Enhanced Reflexes:**  Evie's reflexes are enhanced to extraordinary levels.

 **Regenerative Healing Factor** : Evie's body is able to heal with extraordinary speed and efficiency, that is beyond a regular human being.

**  
Wing Manifestation:**

_"Tony: How are your wings attached?_

_Evie: They're part of me._

_Tony: They don't come off?_

_Evie: Do your arms come off?"_

Evie has two large, jet black feathered wings that grow from her body allowing flight. They also protect her from rear attacks. Evie conceals her wings by having them appear as huge black tattoos on her back and shoulders, even reaching down to her hips and thighs, but they lose their tattoo form when she manifests her wings. 

       

Each wing had a razor-sharp talon that could inflict major damage on an opponent.

When her wings appear and disappear they do so in a cloud of black dust. 

 

**Applications:**

**\- Flight:**  Evie can use her wings to fly or otherwise move through the air.

 **\- High-Speed Flight:**  With her wings, Evie can fly at incredible speeds.

 **\- Gliding:**  Evie can use her wings to glide through air without having to apply thrust.

 **Enhanced Lung Capacity:**  Evie has lung capacity and/or ability to use the oxygen very effectively enabling them to hold their breath for extended periods of time while staying active. This may also include birdlike lungs that allow the user to keep their lungs constantly filled with fresh air

 **\- Atmospheric Adaptation:**  Evie's lungs acclimatize to allow her to survive aerial deficiency, which are among the longest and most painful deaths the average human can suffer.

 **Aerial Adaptation:**  Evie is able to survive and adapt to extremely high or low air pressure (not becoming disoriented or deprived of the normal breathing capacity), and high wind friction; this is accompanied by an innate immunity to vertigo and/or fear of heights.

 **Eye Colour Manipulation:** Evie's eye color changes depending on her mood. She has no control over this.

\- See next page for colours

 

 

** Abilities: **

**Aerobatics:**  Evie can perform aerobatic stunts while flying, including doing turns, loops, corkscrews, barrel rolling, spins, fly upside down or backward like a hummingbird, etc.

 **Master Martial Artist:**  Evie is an extremely skilled and formidable martial artist and hand-to-hand combatant, excelling at improvisation and weapons handling.

 **Master Acrobat:**  Due to her extraordinarily enhanced agility and reflexes, Evie has the immense capability in using flips and spins in a fight and in flight.

 **Multilingualism:**  Evie speaks her native English, as well as fluent Romanian and seasoned Russian (albeit with a thick accent). She can also understand (and possibly speak) German. She is most likely is able to speak and understand a multitude of other languages as well.


	3. Eye Colour

 

**Wine Red - Bloodlust Rage**

**Ruby Red - Rage/Wrath**

**Rose Red - Anger**

**Rose - Passion**

**Rose Pink - Desire**

**Pink - Love (Romantic)**

**Amethyst -  Affection/Flirty**

**Garnet Pink - Crush/Attraction**

**Vintage Rose - Sentiment/Longing**

**Peach - Love (Family)**

**Champagne - Annoyance**

**Smoked Topaz - Cautious**

**Amber - Alarm/Distress**

**Colorado Topaz - Scared**

**Imperial Topaz - Wary**

**Citrine - Hangry**

**Golden Shadow - Hungry**

**Crystal Greige - Starving**

**Emerald Green - Envy**

**Olive Green - Jealousy**

**Peridot - Amusement**

**Apple Green - Cheerful**

**Dark Olive - Mischevious**

**Olive Yellow - Playful**

**Emerald - Energetic**

**Emerald Bohemian - Excited**

**Crysolite - Proud**

**Indicolite - Calm, relaxed, at peace**

**Blue Zircon - Restless**

**Aquamarine - Lazy**

**Montana Blue - Tired**

**London Blue - Depressed**

**Sapphire Blue - Sad**

**Lt. Sapphire - Cranky**

**Ocean Blue - Frustrated**

**Tanzanite - Stressed**

**Purple Amethyst - Embarrassed**

**Violet - Teased**

**Diamond Clear - Blissful**

**Black Diamond - Pained**

**Jet Black - Grieving**

**Dark Smokey - Madness**


	4. Prologue

It's a tingling in the tips of her fingers that wakes  _her_. Like pins and needles that want to kill her. That spreads along her arms up to her shoulders. Twitching. Itching. Stabbing. And she can't move. Not an inch. Every part of her body is stiff and frozen. She wants to scream. To shout out for help. Can feel it in her lungs but nothing is obeying her. Her fingers won't move. Her mouth won't open. Her eyes are frozen closed. And panic begins to swell inside of her. Choking her because she can't even breath. She can't physically get her lungs moving. But then something shifts, just slightly inside of her and she gasps, air flooding through her lungs as they start to work, slowly, agonizingly slow but working none the less. Her body defrosting, warming. Agony. It's agony. Like fire flooding through her entire body, a body that's been asleep suddenly waking with a pure vengeance. She cries out, her voice is hoarse and pained as she does. Next, it's her eyes. They snap open to reveal swirling amber eyes, she sucks in a breath, deep and heavy and it burns her lungs as she slams her palm against the glass in front of her and she pushes. The metal around her creaks with the force but she's weak and still confused and wary. She slumps back and closes her eyes taking a deep breath before she lifts her legs up, using her back to keep her steady as she kicks open the door. Fresh air rushing into the pod which she greedily sucks into her lungs as she pushes herself out of the pod, stumbling and struggling to remain upright. She falls to her knees and coughs, her chest tight and cold. She clutches her hand to her chest, scrunching the material there tight as she hunches around herself. Shivering and shaking on her knees against a cold and unforgiving floor. She pushes through the pain, waits for it to pass before she moves again. Lifting her head so her eyes can shift around the empty and abandoned. A pipe drips across the room into a large freezing puddle beneath. The whole room is beyond cold. Crawling she moves across the room and pushes herself back to her feet using the table in front of her, her arms aching with the movement. Every inch of her still stiff.

…......

It feels like hours but it's probably only moments when she stumbles against the wall of a tunnel scraping her hand over the jagged rocks, opening the skin on her palm but she keeps going, pushing herself forward. Out. She wants out of this dark hole. Something inside her telling her to flee. That this place is filled with death and pain. She finds a light at the end of the tunnel and moves towards it. Her feet stumbling under her with her new speed. Freedom is in front of her. She holds her hand up to block the sun suddenly invading her senses, she cringes lowering her head and closing her eyes. She shivers still feeling the effects of whatever happened to her. But she needs to get out of here. Doesn't matter what is out there. She takes a deep breath, cringing slightly at the pull on her lungs before she steps out of the cave and into the sun.

…................

She doesn't know how long she's walked for. She has no idea how many steps she's taken. But every inch of her hurts. She's moved too soon, too fast, too much. But what was she supposed to do? Stay where she was and wait for help, something inside of her is telling her that help wouldn't be coming, and even if it did, she feels it wouldn't be the help she requires or desires. There is an engine close to her, she can hear it revving closer, she narrows her eyes and turns trying to seek it out but it stops before she can the heat-hazy around her. Heavy and hurried footsteps followed by loud voices get louder as they move towards her. She snaps her head around, too fast, so fast it makes her dizzy. She stumbles back and groans. Men. A team of men with guns approaches her. Barking at her. She frowns at them and shakes her head. She's surrounded. She turns on the spot, eyes aching as they strain against the sun as she tries to take in her enemy, she's still too tired, too weak. She takes a shaky breath, the air too warm on her still cold lungs. She collapses into the sand beneath her, despite the situation she relaxes, the sand warm on her back and legs. Footsteps approach her, her finger twitch against her stomach, her eyes struggling to remain open. A face peers down at her, watches her before she lets darkness overtake her. She has no energy left to fight at this point she honestly doesn't care if she lives or dies.

 


	5. Chapter One

A pain throbbing through her entire body wakes her. Tingling through her limbs, twitching with her pain. She then wakes with a jerk, aware of eyes on her, aware of people close to her, her eyes stare up at two men hovering over her. She knows neither of them. Not recognition there at all. One appears American or European, the other from the Middle-east, she can't pinpoint from where exactly. Her breathing increases as she starts to panic. The younger of the two speaks first.

“Easy” he coos slightly American then, she pushes herself back against the wall behind her. “You American?” he asks her. “You speak English?” he counters watching her eyes flicker between the two men in front of her. “You speak at all?” he softens slightly. “We're not going to hurt you” he promises her, she cowers still but her posture loosens only slightly.

“Do you have a name?” the other man asks her. Her eyes flicker between them. “Yinsen” he offers placing his hand on his chest and then motions to the man next to him. “Tony....” Yinsen holds out his hand to her. “It's alright” he assures her. Tony swears her eyes change color, not by much, but they take a more orange tinge, the brown undertones shifting away. Her fear ebbing out into wariness. She's still wary, but she understands what he is telling her. “Do you have a name?” Yinsen repeats Tony's question. She tests her jaw a little, flexing it before she opens her mouth.

“My name....” she mumbles touching her lips, the movement and sound foreign. Her voice is cracked and pained. “My name...” she repeats turning away from them, curling around herself in the corner, her body trembling. “My name....” she whispers, her mind cranking away trying to make sense of the question. Her new roommates watch her, eyes concerned and worried, because these terrorists just shoved a young woman into their room and she may just be half-crazed. The question in her head seems simple enough, it should be simple but she can't find an answer, there are flickers and flashes but nothing that holds on long enough for her to see or grasp. Tony and Yinsen share a look, Yinsen nods to a blanket and Tony nods in agreement before grabbing it. He takes careful steps towards her, as if she were a caged animal.

“Here” he whispers, but still loud enough for her to hear him, and she does. She jerks, scared again, waiting for him to hurt her, something inside of her waiting for the pain to start. But he just holds out the blanket to her. She stares at him. “Take it,” he tells her shaking the blanket. “It's for you” he adds. She reaches up for it, her eyes never leaving his, cautious and wary, terrified. She snatches the blanket from him and he, thankfully, steps away from her. Giving her more space. Her fingers clutch to the fabric, her eyes intrigued now as she pulls it around herself. When was the last time she felt warm? Her entire body cold and stiff still, like a permanent setting. She pulls the blanket closer and rests her head against the uncomfortable wall. Small. She needs to stay small. Her knees press painfully into her chest as she squishes herself into the smallest position she can. Yinsen watches her out the corner of his eyes as he moves away back to his work station. Tony lingers a little longer watching her. A few tears escaping and running down her cheeks. She is quick to wipe them away.

…..............

Later: Tony keeps his eyes on the girl as she now sleeps, her body coiled and wrapped up in her own arms. Trying to make herself seem as small as possible. Her hair is tatty, like a bird's nest. When was the last time it was brushed? Or washed? Her skin is speckled in dirt, blood and sand making her look older then he thinks she is. Her demeanor is screaming young.

“What do you think?” Tony asks as Yinsen sits at his side.

“She's underweight and clearly very confused, possible head wound, I didn't get the chance to see” he offers lowering his glasses a little. “And she's not exactly dressed for the desert”

“Did you hear anything of what they said when they brought her in?” Tony asks still watching their new friend.

“Not much was said and I was concentrating on the unconscious girl” Tony nods a little and leans forward. “You think there's a reason she's here?” Tony shrugs and sighs.

“I don't know” he whispers slightly. “Yet” he adds and sighs a little. It's bad enough these people took him, and Yinsen, but a girl, and clearly they're not looking after her, or they haven't been looking after her, it's a whole new level of dick move. He stands and moves towards her. Her eyes snap open and turn to him, instantly aware of his presence nearing her. He's aware he's been caught out and stops. They stare at one another. Her fingers pulling the blanket closer to her body, shielding herself with it. Something in her body language tells him everything he needs to know. She's been hurt before. By men. He sits on the top of a crate next to him, not moving any closer to her, but lingering close enough. She watches him, just as he watches her. Studying one another. Her eyes flicker slightly, moving to the glowing mechanical device on his chest, he follows her eyes and then lifts them again when she looks away thoughtful, her fingers trembling against her lips. She has no idea where she is, who these people are or if she is even safe. She left one prison and was thrown into another. She should have died on the sand. It would have been more human than this.

 

 

 

 


	6. Chapter Two

 

Yinsen holds out a bread roll to her, she stares at him. Uncertainty in her eyes. Distrust too. She doesn't know these people so it's understandable that there is no level of trust, but there needs to be if they are to survive they need to watch out for one another.

“You must be hungry,” he tells her softly then looks to the bread, she hugs her arm to her stomach, because she is starving and in pain. She reaches up and snatches the roll from him, terrified that he's going to take it away from her. “You want to try talking?” he asks her.

“Thank you” she rushes out, her voice croaking slightly, her eyes wide with fear, something telling her she should just do as she's told.

“You're welcome” he assures her as she looks down at the bread, she swallows slightly and then picks at it before setting a tiny bit in her mouth. He knows she's holding back. Testing it. Wants to make sure it's not poisoned. Yinsen understands rather than finding it insulting. “What about a name?” he asks her. She chews on the bread a moment thinking.

“No” she answers with a shrug. “I don't know”

“You don't know if you want to tell me? Or you don't know your name?” he asks her, she wrinkles her nose.

“I don't know my name” she forces out quietly and then turns to the bread. “I don't know it” She admits, whimpering slightly as she curls around herself.

“That's okay” Yinsen assures her. “Eat your bread” she nods and sniffles a little as he walks away from her. Tony glances up from where he works. They share a look before Tony turns back to what he was doing.

…................

The door of the cell creaks, Yinsen and Tony snaps their heads up to look at it, it swings open and both men are instantly on their feet moving to place themselves between whoever it is and the girl behind them, she watches them, studying their movements, watching these two men ready to defend her. Something shifts inside of her, something settles. Trust. Not complete trust. She doesn't know them well enough for that, but enough to know these two aren't trying to hurt her, aren't here to hurt her. A man walks into the room, menacing and stern looking. This is warlord Raza. Their captor. He glances to the two of them and then around them to the girl. He holds up a pile of clothing in his hands.

“For her” Raza orders setting the clean clothing, or somewhat clean clothing, down on the table before leaving again. Both Yinsen and Tony wait for everything to settle into silence before moving, Yinsen collects the clothing and turns back to her. She watches them, her eyes shifting between them, they've softened a little of the orange in them, now seemingly more browny amber, her fear subsiding out to caution instead.

“Here” Yinsen sets the clothes down closer to the girl before moving away from them, she glances between them before she takes the clothing and unfolds them to look at them properly. They're better then the slip of a thing she's wearing now, during the day it's not so bad but it gets cold in the cave at night and she has since discovered she hates the cold. These will do better. She turns her back to them, the first time she's present her back to them since she was thrown into this room, and now both men get a good look at the tattoos on her back.

“Wow” Tony whispers tracing the lines of it. It's beautiful and not fresh, a couple of years old maybe.

“Turn around” Yinsen scolds Tony as he turns around himself giving her some privacy to change. Tony doesn't, his eyes fixed on that tattoo. He's never seen anything like it before. He's moving towards her and he knows he shouldn't. He's close to her, too close, but his stupid brain can't tell him that. Because he's more interested in that damn tattoo. “Tony, stop” Yinsen scolds, she turns to face them, realizing what's going on she backs away and into the wall. Tony holds up his hands quickly.

“It's okay,” he tells her. “I didn't...I just” he backs up as she trembles, standing there. Tony turns away and takes a breath. He doesn't even know why he started towards her. She finishes dressing quickly and then moves to her little corner, curling up against the wall yanking her blanket closer to her body. Her eyes down but both men know she's watching them. Yinsen moves to Tony and raises an eyebrow, Tony shrugs back and then sits to sulk.

…..........

Later: Tony rests on his knees watching her sleep, the blanket loose around her ankles having fallen from her body when she'd shifted slightly a few moments before. He's debating going over and fixing it, but he knows she'll just wake up and get scared again. But she's going to get cold soon. He stands and moves towards her. She's twisted awkwardly, she can't be comfortable at all. Tony grabs the blanket and pulls it up and around her. He tucks her in, wrapping the blanket around her as she sleeps, he shifts her slightly, making sure she's comfortable.

“It's the first time she's slept properly” Yinsen comments, Tony hums in agreement when he pulls back from her. It is the first time she's not reacted to them getting closer to her. He stands and moves away from her, not wanting to push his luck, who knows how she'll react to seeing his mug when she wakes up.

“Figured out what we can call her” Tony offers, Yinsen raises an eyebrow at him as Tony walks passed him. “We have to call her something” Tony points out.

“Very well, what did you have in mind?” Yinsen asks, Tony smirks.

“Angel” he answers.

 


	7. Chapter Three

Days go by and 'Angel' remains jumpy but does seem to accept these two men as allies and not the enemy. She can tell the difference between them and the people on the other side of the door. Tony feels her moving behind him, can hear her breathing, the heat she radiates, because that's something they have noticed about her, she's a furnace in herself, a warm heat that could imply a fever and infection, but as she won't let them close enough to check there is nothing they can do about it. He tries not to react when she sits next to him on the bench he's perched on. He keeps his eyes on his work.

“What is that?” she asks, Tony glances to her, notes her attention on the item in his hands.

“So you do talk” he teases, she stares at him a moment, her eye color shifting from a topaz of wary or cautious to a light green of amusement and back again, a few times before she seems to settle on the green. He's been trying to track the colors, because he is aware they mean something, he's just not sure yet, he even has a little notebook.

“Throat hurts when I do” she whispers looking away from him.

“That's because you're not using it enough” he offers, she hums and reaches across the table to touch what he's working on. “Don't” he grabs her wrist, her eyes widen and her change to a deeper orange, alarm, she whimpers and he takes a quick breath releasing her hand. “I'm sorry” he whispers quickly. “I...I forgot” she pulls her hand to her chest but she's still sat beside him, she hasn't retreated to her corner, which she would have done before, actually she wouldn't have gotten this close to him before this moment. “You shouldn't touch this with your bare hands” he scolds lightly. “It's dangerous....” she nods a little looking everywhere but at him. “It's palladium” he whispers to her.

“Palladium” she repeats the word with a frown.

“It's a metal” he explains, she worries her bottom lip and then takes a breath.

“What's it for?” she asks, he smirks at her.

“A battery” he answers.

“For what?” he reaches up and touches the device in his chest, his finger taps on it a couple of times before he stops and lowers his hand. She stares at it before eventually looking down.

“Angel” she wrinkles her nose and turns to him. “We are going to get out of here” he tries to assure her, her eyes turn a pinky-orange and his breath catches, that color is something else and a long way from normal eye color. She recognizes the sentiment behind his words, and she does long to be free from this place.

“Why do you call me Angel?” she asks him.

“Because you don't remember your real name, right?” he asks, she nods and then shrugs.

“No” she answers softly.

“Do you remember anything? she scratches at her fingers and sighs.

“I woke up” she answers. “Walked around.....then” she looks to him. “Here”

“That's it?” he asks her, she nods. “No family? No home?” she shrugs and touches a screwdriver on the worktop, distracting herself. “Yeah, me neither” he adds, she looks to him again.

“No one is looking for you?” she asks, he shrugs.

“Yeah, maybe” he answers. “My assistant might be, Pepper, she's great, you'd like her”

“Pepper is a funny name” she comments, he laughs and nods.

“Yeah, yeah it is, but it's just a nickname” she cocks her head.

“Like Tony?” she asks, he nods.

“Yeah, that's a nickname too....”

“Like Angel?” He nods again and smiles.

“Yeah, yeah, that's...right”

“Oh” she breaths and nods. “Okay,” she falls silent after this and so does Tony, not wanting to push her any further. This is the most she has ever spoken to him, and the closest she's gotten, he's not about to scare her away. Their escape may well rely on him having to manhandle her at some point to get her out, but he can't do that if he's going to literally terrify her with a simple touch. She hums a little and then stands walking away from him without another word. Tony rubs the sweat from his forehead as Yinsen joins him, they share a look.

“I know” Tony whispers. “Am I asleep?” he asks. “Is this a dream?” Yinsen rolls his eyes slightly.

“No, I can assure you this is all very real” Yinsen answers. “What did she say? What did you find out?”

“Well, she still doesn't know her name, or where she's from...or her family” Tony complains a little.

“No head wound” Yinsen whispers. “There's no reason for her memory loss” Tony purses his lips thoughtful.

“She has to be from somewhere” he mumbles as Angel readjusts her hair pulling it back up into a ponytail as she sits in her little corner, she has a couple of blankets now which she's using as a form of a mattress to sleep on. “There has to be someone missing her, how old do you think she is?” Yinsen shrugs.

“Hard to tell in this light....mid '20s, early '30s....” Yinsen answers, Tony hums and watches her.

“What do you think of her eyes?” Tony asks, Yinsen lets out a breath and sighs.

“Nothing I've ever seen before” he admits, Tony nods in agreement.

“Yeah, me neither” he scratches at his growing beard and nods. “Alright, back to it...” he turns and goes back to his work, unaware that Angel is watching him. Tony pulls out his notebook and opens it up to add the new data on her eyes. Yinsen goes back to his own table where his chess set sits waiting for him. Angel pulls a blanket around her shoulders and holds it close to her, resting back against the wall. 

 

 

 

 


	8. Chapter Four

** Weeks Later:  
**

Angel is better. More relaxed around Tony and Yinsen. Yinsen even got a smile out of her. Despite their situation, despite her memory loss and her fear, she smiled. Not only that, but her eyes had turned the most shocking shade of green with her small moment of cheerfulness, she'd looked so different, so young in that moment, Tony may have slipped a little more lost in her. He's attached. He's bound to be. When you spend as much time as they do around one another bonds are always going to be formed. She sits with Tony as he works, it's comfortable, she's comfortable with him now. Her eyes a dull blue. Tony doesn't understand what this one means but he doesn't think it's good. Her main mood has progressively been getting worse. She's even started crying herself to sleep. The longer they are here, the less hope any of them have of being rescued. She may not have memories, but she understands everything just fine. She knows that the longer they are here the less likely it is that they will escape or be rescued.

“I don't want to set the world on fire” Angel starts to sing, both Tony and Yinsen look at her, she talks, barely but singing...that's all-new. “I just want to start a flame in your heart” she doesn't seem to realize that she's doing it. Her eyes on the wall across from her, the shade having shifted from blue to that pinky-orange of longing. Memories. Tony realizes that something is going on in her head, she could be remembering something. “In my heart I have but one desire. And that one is you, no other will do. I've lost all ambition for worldly acclaim. I just want to be the one you love” Tony sets his tools down to watch her, a few tears slowly slide down her cheek. “And with your admission that you'd feel the same. I'll have reached the goal I'm dreaming of, believe me. I don't want to set the world on fire. I just want to start a flame in your heart”

“Angel” she snaps her head to Tony. “Do you remember that song?” he asks her, she frowns. “You were singing,” he tells her.

“I don't know” she admits. “It just...felt it” her eyes change again, to a dull black, she appears pained. “Made me...” she cocks her head trying to place the feeling in her chest. “Sad, I think” she adds, he gives her a small smile.

“Sounds like your memories are still in there” he offers. “They're just a little stuck”

“Why?” she asks him.

“I don't know” he answers her sadly. “I really don't” and he hates that. He prides himself on knowledge but he has none here. He has none that will help her. She sighs and turns away from him. Tony looks over his shoulder at Yinsen concentrating on building a backgammon board. He turns back to his work and then begins filling a cylinder with gas from the torch at his side. Yinsen flicks them a glance, his eyes lingering on what Tony is doing.

“Stark, tell me what you’re doing, and I’ll tell you what I’m doing” He states.

“Looks to me like you’re making a crappy backgammon board” Tony points out.

“Crappy? This is Lebanese cedar”

“Is that where you’re from, Lebanon?” Tony asks.

“I’m impressed you even know what this is” Yinsen comments. “How about we play, and if I win, you tell me what you’re really making”

“'A' I don’t know what you're talking about. 'B' I was the backgammon champ at MIT four years running”

“Interesting, I was the champion at Cambridge”

“Please don’t use ‘interesting’ and Cambridge in the same sentence” Tony glances back at Yinsen. “Is that still a school?”

“It’s a university. You probably haven’t heard about it since Americans can’t get in”

“Unless they’re teaching” The door-slat flies open. Abu. He barks, more stern than usual. Tony stops, the secret cylinder he was filling clatters to the floor. Yinsen notices, looks at Tony. Angel stiffens at Tony's side, her entire body flooding with fear. Abu, Ahmed, and Omar enter, followed by Raza's guards. They take up positions, rigid. Raza enters (he speaks English).

“Relax,” he tells them. They lower their hands, Tony gently directing Angle behind him, keeping himself between her and Raza. There is silence as Raza meanders, picking up and putting things down. He almost steps on Tony’s secret cylinder, but then sees a washing machine. He shoots Abu a cold look and turns to the workbench and peruses Tony’s onion-paper schematics of the missile. “The bow and arrow was once the pinnacle of weapons technology. It allowed the great Genghis Khan to rule from the Pacific to the Ukraine” He pushes the schematics around trying to make sense of them. “Today...whoever has the latest Stark weapons rules these lands. Soon it will be my turn...” There is a beat as Raza looks back and forth between Yinsen, Angel, and Tony. He settles on Yinsen, they begin to talk in Urdu. Tony nor Angel can follow the conversation but they can follow the tone. Yinsen flicks a glance at Tony, who watches apprehensively. Raza turns to Abu though his eyes linger on Angel. Abu and Ahmed share a look and then they are both approaching Tony and Angel, Angel grabs the back of Tony's shirt, his hand hovers in front of her, blocking her from them, he shakes his head. Tony is pulled from her.

“No” he snaps when Abu reaches for Angel. Her eyes instantly change to red, red like rage. Tony's eyes widen seeing them. It gives Abu a moment to pause, Raza snaps at him again and Abu reaches for her arm, Angel snaps her hand up and grabs his wrist and twists, he cries out in pain as she squeezes, his bones actually straining with her strength. Ahmed grabs her from behind, she cries out and kicks, hitting Abu in the shoulder sending him flying backward across the floor. Ahmed tightens his arms around her holding her still. Her eye color flashes, shifting through colors, unsure what to settle on. She tries to throw her head back in a headbutt but Ahmed angles his face away from her. He forces her to her knees, sliding a hand into her hair he pulls her head back. Using tongs, Raza lifts a lump of hot coal from the furnace and approaches Angel. He talks to Yinsen in Urdu again as he gets closer to Angel. Yinsen's voice becomes more desperate. Raze stares down at Angel.

“Open your mouth!” he orders of her, Angel won’t do it. Abu, back on his feet, and Ahmed force her mouth open. Raza shouts at Yinsen again as Angel struggles. Yinsen responds, pleading, begging. The glowing coal nearly at Angel's mouth now....then Raza drops the coal on the floor in front of her and leaves. Raza’s men follow and slam the door shut. Angel is frozen where she kneels. Tony moves straight for her, his hand hovering close to her not sure if he should touch her right about not.

“Angel” he whispers, she looks up at him then stands stepping into his chest, he relaxes and wraps his arms around her protectively. She trembles and cries against him. Yinsen takes a shaky breath and moves closer to them both.

“That’s twice I saved your life,” he tells them, eyes on Tony. “Now are you going to tell me what the hell you’re really building?” Their eyes hold, Tony nods a little.

 


	9. Chapter Five

Angel ends up back in her corner, her experience with Raza and his men have shaken her. She wonders if there is anyone out there looking for her. Missing her. Waiting for her. She can't remember either way so it's not like it matters. She could die down here and no one would care. No one would miss her. Tony crouches next to her and gives her a small smile.

“I'm going to get you out of here” Tony assures her. “Okay, Angel?” she looks up at him, her eyes red from tears but the color of her irises are a shade of blue. He's starting to understand that blue isn't good, no matter which shade of blue it is. “You just have to bear with me a little longer” she sniffles and nods looking away again. “I promise” he adds softly brushing her hair back from her face, fingers grazing softly against her cheek. She sighs and closes her eyes. “We'll get out of here” he repeats. “Find out who you are” he adds, she opens her eyes. “Get you home” he gives her a reassuring smile. “Get you back to your family, your....boyfriend or wife or something” he stares at her, expecting something, some answer, some flutter to let him know she somewhat remembers her family. But there is nothing there. He sighs a little and stands. “Alright” he can tell she wants to be alone, that she's retreated back into her shell. He looks to Yinsen who shrugs softly. There's nothing they can do from here.

…...............

Abu walks down a tunnel in the cave, heading for the lab/cell, he shoves the door-slat aside. He sees Tony, shaving in front of the broken mirror, Tony turns and glances to him. Abu looks around the room and sees Angel sat cross-legged on the floor next to Tony. She fidgets with a small length of string. Abu shuts the door slat. Tony wipes his face and glances to Angel who glances back at him, Tony looks away first and pulls on a pair of gloves as he goes to the furnace. He takes a white-hot piece of metal from the forge and starts pounding on it. Yinsen sits on the bed behind Angel, she glances back to Tony and is struck by the image of Tony, strong and resolute, hammering away, her eyes shift to a dark pink, indicating attraction. Yinsen leans closer to her to talk to her.

“My people have a tale, about a Prince -- much hated by his King – who was banished to the underworld and jailed there...” He tells her as the hammer in Tony's hand echoes with each blow. “The evil King gave him the most difficult labor -- working the iron pits” Tony’s muscles ripple, sweat flying. “Year after year the Prince mined the heavy ore, becoming so strong he could crush pieces of it together with his bare hands. Too late, the King realized his mistake...” Yinsen glances to Angel who is transfixed on Tony as dazzling sparks fly around him. “When he struck at the Prince with his finest sword -- it broke in half. The Prince himself had become strong as iron...” Tony, sweating, holds up the metal he’s been working on, a crude iron mask stares back. He tosses the mask down. It lies there smoking and pulsing with heat. Angel looks away, her eyes brightening slightly to a warmer pink....desire licking at her, she ignores the heat in her cheeks and swallows thickly. She's just not been active with anyone for...well however long it's been, if she ever has before. Yinsen smiles a little as she goes back to her piece of string, purposely focusing on her hands instead of Tony. She doesn't like being here. She doesn't like these new emotions. Fear she can manage, fear is all she remembers, fear she understands. But this....she doesn't understand this.

….........

 **Weeks Later:**  Angel sits finished her weaved string, she has no idea what she's doing but she's doing something, and it keeps her busy, keeps her hands busy. Tony is putting the finishing touches on a strange box housing a laser-pointer, fan, and tinsel. He tapes the box shut, peeks through a tiny hole in its side; it looks like the furnace flames in the dark. He glances to Angel as she ties the string around her wrist then unties it again checking the length before she starts braiding it again. He smiles warmly, his eyes softening. Yinsen watches Tony, knows that expression. Even if Tony doesn't know it yet. Yinsen knows. Tony takes a breath and goes back to his work. He glances to the surveillance camera and then takes the box from the table.

…...........

In Raza's control room guards, bored and tired mill about. The surveillance monitor shows the furnace glowing in the dark lab. There is a brief shift in the image as back in the lab the strange box Tony was working on is being affixed over the surveillance camera.

…..........

A work-light is on, illuminating Tony and Yinsen by the workbench, Angel hovers slightly, her eyes flickering between them, not 100% sure of what's going on but she senses the mood, there is new hope in the air and she's latching onto it. A sensor on Tony’s leg is coupled to a contraption. Yinsen plugs a wire into Tony's RT ‘heart’, it takes a moment before data races up on the crusty laptop...then as Tony moves his leg, the contraption on the table springs to life, responding to his actions. Tony’s chest-device, which dims with the power loss. The two men’s eyes drift up and hold. Angel smiles amazed and in awe. Tony holds up his hand to Angel.

“Alright give me some skin” he teases, she frowns at him.

“Skin?” she asks and then looks down at herself. “I can't give you my skin" she argues. "I need it” she states, Tony and Yinsen share a look, Tony smirks and then chuckles reaching for her hand.

“Here” he takes her hand and pulls it up to his. “You do this” he places her hand flat against his in a high five, she watches and then looks to him.

“Skin” she offers, Tony nods. 

“Yeah....” he teases and pulls her closer to hug her. She awkwardly hangs her hands at her side before wrapping them around him, she nuzzles into his shirt a little. “There we go” he teases and she shakes her head pulling away from him.

“Sit down” Yinsen scolds Tony. “I need to unplug you” Tony leans back and allows Yinsen to unplug him.

“We’re ready. A week of assembly and we’re a go” Tony tells them both.

“A week” Angel whispers.

“We're almost home dry, Angel,” Tony tells her touching her arm, she nods a little.

“Then perhaps it’s time we settle another matter...” Yinsen starts with a small smirk.


	10. Chapter Six

Tony and Yinsen eat and play backgammon, Angel leans against Tony's side with her own food. This is as close and as affectionate as she's been with them both. Tony doesn't mind, he actually rather likes it. Likes her. He glances to her and smiles seeing her humming around her spoon. She enjoys every piece of food that they give her, whoever she was before this, she was clearly hungry that's for sure.

“Ah, anchoring with 13-7. You know, I have never met anyone who understands the nuances of this game like you” Yinsen tells Tony.

“Right back at ya” Tony counters, Angel leans up a little turning to Yinsen.

“You never told us where you’re from, Yinsen” Tony comments, Yinsen glances to him and looks to the board, he takes a moment.

“I come from a small village not far from here. It was a good place...before these men ravaged it” He tells them.

“Do you have a family?” Angel asks him scooting closer, her eyes shifting to a beautiful dark rose color. Longing. She longs for her own family. People to miss her. People to care about her.

“When I get out of here, I am going to see them again,” he tells her softly before turning to Tony. “Do you have family, Stark?”

“...no,” Tony answers quietly.

“You’re a man who has everything and nothing” Yinsen points out, Tony takes that in. Abu shouts from the door slat and enters. “Your laundry’s over there,” Yinsen tells him in Arabic. Abu goes to a basket where his laundry is neatly folded. He smells it, ‘ah, clean clothes.’ He heads for the door,

shaking his head as he sees them play backgammon.

“You idiots don’t know what you’re doing with that game” Abu comments in Arabic.

“Yeah-yeah, enjoy your laundry” Tony comments. Abu is about to head out when Raza enters. Abu freezes. Raza's eyes dip to the laundry, then without warning, he shoots Abu in the head. Tony, Angel, and Yinsen stand there, stock-still. Tony pulls Angel closer whilst pushing her behind him too.

“You have till tomorrow to assemble my missile,” Raza tells them and steps closer to Angel, he looks over her and then to her face, she trembles, her skin crawling. Tony looks between them worried, his jaw is tight with anger. Raza grabs her arm and Angel's eyes widen as she reaches up to grab his wrist.

“No” she snaps at him, the most vocal she's been against these men. Tony steps forwards as Raza starts to pull her out of the lab, she tries pushing back but she's weak.

“Angel” Tony begs, eyes wide as Raza drags her out of the room. The door closes and Tony hurries to it, pressing his hand to the metal. “Angel” he whispers, voice breaking as he touches the door softly.

…..........

Raza drags Angel along the tunnel as she kicks and punches with the little energy she has. Her feet drag as she fights. There is another door, open, waiting for her, but it feels dark and heavy, like that final nail in the coffin, she fights a little harder, screaming at him. He throws Angel into the room, her hands scraping against the harsh floor, she cries out, and turns onto her backside to watch Raza approach her and then steps closer to her, his boot heavy against the dirt. She pushes herself back till her back hits the wall behind her.

“Please” she whispers. Turns out she really isn't above begging for her life. “Please” she looks up at him as he looms over her. He raises the gun in his hand, making sure it's trained on her, she closes her eyes bracing herself. This is it. This is how she dies. In some cave, alone, killed by terrorists. No. No, it's not. Her eyes shift as she opens them, they change, harden turning into the brightest red. She takes a few breaths, ragged and raw before she launches herself at him. From her back, two huge black wings erupt pushing her forward.

…............

Back in the lab, Tony stands at the door still, his hand on the metal, he jumps a little hearing the gunshots ring out, his eyes wide, his breath catching. Yinsen looks down behind him. Both fearing the worst. Tony shakes his head, not wanting to believe it. Why now? Why would they kill her now? After all this time? Why feed her and clothe her just to kill her? It doesn't make sense. Unless they did it to get to them. To get to him. To push him. Yes. This is all his fault. All his fault. His death is all his fault.

…..........

Raze holds his hand on his side with a groan, blood pooling through his fingers, not enough to kill him, but it's pretty bad. He wasn't expecting her to be.....he grits his teeth. Enhanced. He's never seen anything like that before. He looks down at the dead men at his feet,  _her_  doing. She was unstoppable. An animal. All rage and anger. He glances to the surveillance feed watching Tony and Yinsen as they 'mourn'. Tony sits staring at the corner their 'Angel' slept in. His fingers toying with a length of string. Her length of string.

…..........

Yinsen moves closer to Tony who looks up at him. Angel had grown on them both.

“It's not your fault” Yinsen offers, Tony shrugs and looks down.

“Yes, it is” he argues. “If I'd done what they wanted....”

“Then we would already be dead” Yinsen counters. “All of us...” Tony struggles a little with his own emotions.

“I...urm....” Tony tries. “She died thinking no one was looking for her” Tony reminds him. “That no one cared”

“She knew that wasn't true” Yinsen counters. “We cared, she knew that” Tony nods a little.

“Yeah” Tony whispers setting the string aside.

 

 


	11. Chapter Seven

In Raza's control room, guards pour over a map, discussing heatedly. Others clean and re-assemble weapons. Khalid keeps watching the monitors. He sees Yinsen laboring furiously behind the jig. Raza enters, wiping his face and neck with a towel. He drifts to the monitors, observes. Troubled he leans in, staring intently.

“Khalid. Where is Stark?” Raza asks.

…................

Khalid arrives at the lab, he pulls the slat aside and peeks in. He glimpses a disembodied Yinsen working behind the jig.

“Yinsen! YINSEN!” Yinsen ignores him, keeps working. Below the door-slat on the inside of the door is an IED 44 cylinder (the propane tank Tony filled earlier), it's been rigged to the door-latch. Khalid turns to his men, who ratchet their guns. He unlocks the door. It won’t open. He shoulders it and the door explodes in his face. Smoke. Debris.

…................

Raza witnesses the explosion on the surveillance monitor.

…................

The program bars load incredibly slowly on the laptop in the lab.

“It’s frozen, the systems aren’t talking to each other. Reset!” Tony snaps.

“No, they’re moving. Very slow” A bulky chest piece is being lowered over Tony, there is the whine of tools as Yinsen seals Tony in.

…...................

Raza is at his monitors, orchestrating his men over the radio.

..................

Raza’s men cautiously approach the blown lab door.

…..............

Inside, Yinsen eyes the laptop, the bars creeping ever so slowly. He turns, listening to the shouting men outside growing louder.

“Get to your cover,” Tony tells him. “Remember the checkpoints -- make sure each one is clear before you follow me out,” Yinsen thinks a moment and then makes his decision, Yinsen runs out of the lab. “YINSEN!” Tony shouts after him, his heart sinking. Yinsen grabs dead Khalid’s weapon and runs into the tunnel, firing in the air.

…...............

Yinsen runs around a corner, encountering Raza’s men. Yinsen opens fire -- the men are caught off guard, and retreat. Yinsen chases, firing madly, unleashing pent-up rage. He enters the outer cavern and is confronted by Raza and his troops. Yinsen lowers his weapon to the ground.

…................

Tony is trapped in the suit, watches the loading bars on the laptop get close. Suddenly there are multiple bursts of gunfire. Tony throws a look to the door and then it falls to silence. Too quiet.

….................

The loading bars on the laptop finish their cycle and a surge of power to the suit dims the lights.

….................

The lights outside of the lab dim to darkness. Raza’s Guards, scared, inch up on the lab. Two of them break off and move forward. The two Guards enter the dark, smoky lab cautiously. It appears empty. Then, a Guard stops, turns slowly in the dark, an eerie glow, twin-flames.

…..................

Outside the lab, the two Insurgents scream as they are flung back out. The other Guards fire wildly into the lab. As they re-load they listen to the thump and screech of metal. A glowing chest plate. The flicker of blue pilot lights, and finally, out of the smoke, the complete nightmare vision, Iron Man, the Original Gray armor. The Insurgents start to back away, firing, but Tony keeps coming, feet crunching on the cave floor.

…..............

Raza is strapping on his flak vest and grabs an RPG launcher.

“Not again” he comments and sighs, he has already failed in keeping the girl. He won't lose another.

….............

An Insurgent jumps from a side-corridor, firing his pistol point-blank at the back of Iron Man’s head. PING! The bullet ricochets back, killing the man instantly.

…...........

As Iron Man clumps towards the light of freedom, insurgents spill out of nooks, in front of him, behind him, firing Tony’s arms swivel, knocking Guards down, absorbing countless rounds. The suit is shredding, smoking, pockmarked.

….............

Raza is heading down a tunnel with an RPG. A wounded Guard grabs onto him, jabbering. Raza shoves him aside.

…..............

Tony turns into the main chamber and sees Yinsen on the ground.

“Stop!” Yinsen warns. “Stop!” Tony stops and an RPG whizzes past his nose, exploding in the wall next to him. Tony turns and sees Raza, in the intersecting tunnel, calmly loading another RPG. Tony primes his flame throwers, but they malfunction. Both men square off. Raza aims, but now Tony’s flame throwers kick in and Raza flattens as twin-plumes of fire envelope him. He screams, grabbing a dead soldier as a shield. Tony turns clearing Insurgents out of the tunnels with his flame throwers. Then he returns to Yinsen.

“We could’ve made it. Both of us. You could’ve seen your family again” Tony tells him.

“I am going to see them again. They’re waiting for me” And now Tony understands -- Yinsen’s family is dead. Yinsen grins, then sags into himself, dead. Tony hangs his head, then lifts it determined. He turns and heads for the exit.

…...............

Raza’s men flee as a deluge of flame shoot from the tunnel. Then Tony emerges, the grey armor scarred and sizzling. Insurgents keep firing, trying to draw him from the massive ammo dump under the camouflage. But Tony is relentless, keeps moving towards it. Tony turns his flame throwers on the crates. They begin to burn -- the Stark logos eaten by flames. And now a withering barrage of gunfire knocks Tony to his knees. The hose to his flame thrower is pierced, setting his arm on fire. Another bullet catches a seam and enters his shoulder. But Tony struggles back to his feet. The suit grinds. He pushes further into the maze, torching everything. More gunfire pings and ricochets off him, pieces of the gray armor begins to come loose. Now Tony opens a metal flap on his arm, flips a red switch. As a whine builds to a roar. Tony tucks, angles forward, his heel-boosters glow white-hot, kicking up desert plumes – and then he blasts off like a missile, rising hundreds of feet. One Insurgent watches dumbstruck, as the suit arcs across the sky towards a mountain pass. And then the first ammo dump ignites. Then another and another, fire rises to join in a hellish conflagration. And barely outpacing the fireball the grey armor shoots away from the fire, it clears the mountain ridge by inches, and then the boosters are suddenly spent. It plunges like a human cannonball.

…............

Tony thuds into the sand, pieces of the armor splitting away. Dazed, he struggles from the exoskeleton.

…..............

It's dark now and Tony is struggling. He stumbles through the sand, he's exhausted, he's thirsty, he's hungry and he is in pain. Tony falls to his knees. Behind him, a USAF Blackhawk suddenly rises over the lip of the dune. Tony looks up and over his shoulder watching it go. Mere moments later and Rhodey, winded, appears over the dune. A grin forming as he recognizes Tony. He hurries towards him.

“Saving your ass is getting to be a full-time job” Rhodey comments reaching his best friend, Tony manages to smile a little as Rhodey touches his shoulder, Tony subconsciously leans into the friendly touch.

…....................

Black wings flap through the darkness of New York, unsteady, weak before they are falling. And falling fast. Angel hits the ground with a thud, her wings disappearing into smoke as she rolls across the grass beneath her. She groans and pushes herself to her knees. Everything hurts and she's so very tired. She can barely crawl, her arms shaking with the effort. She collapses into a bush, curling in on herself before she falls unconscious.

 


	12. Chapter Eight

As Tony enters the Stark Industries lobby, struggling his way to the podium, he is followed by Obadiah Stane. Tony gazes out over the reporters. Suddenly he seems vulnerable, scattered, he touches his hand and looks down. Angel's string is tied around his wrist. He couldn't leave it behind. The silence grows awkward.

…............

In New York, a car horn blazes and the figure jumps stumbling back into an alley afraid almost tripping over bags of trash. Amber eyes of fear peer out from under the hood. Angel. She doesn't even remember how she got to New York. The last thing she remembers is Raza stood over her with a gun pointed in her face, then she woke up in a park curled up under a bush. Covered in blood, her clothes tattered. She'd managed to steal an extra-large hoodie and t-shirt to change into and has kept herself hidden since. Her feet are filthy and bloodied from walking around barefoot. She's starving and exhausted. She's been scavenging from the trash. She is trash now. She is actually trash. At least in that cave, they fed her. Now she's having to find her own food. She's not used to the world. Everything scares her. People scare her. So many people. She's been a nervous and terrified wreck since she woke up. She calms herself as she presses back against the wall closing her eyes and trying to block out all the noise. It's difficult. She can hear so much all the time. Her body trembles, with her exhaustion, with her fear, with her unsettled nature. Once calm she takes a deep breath and tries again. She steps out of the alley and walks down the street, keeping small and curled up. She pauses in front of a storefront, a couple of TVs playing a new report, another some press conference. Tony's press conference. Her eyes find his figure on the screen. Her fingers itching at her side. Her eyes shift from amber for the first time in days, longing overtakes her fear, her eyes turning to dark pale pink, a vintage rose.

“Tony” she whispers stepping closer to the glass.

…...............

Obadiah is mercifully going to save Tony when Tony stops him and takes a deep breath leaning on the podium.

“I...can’t do this anymore” Tony admits. There is a pregnant silence. Everyone waiting for the Stark punch-line. Finally, a Reporter ventures:

“You mean you’re retiring?” He asks.

“No, I don’t want to retire. I want to do something else” Tony admits. The room waits through more awkward silence.

“Something besides weapons?” A reporter asks.

“Yes. That’s right” Tony states. The room is suddenly buzzing with overlapping questions.

“The official report was sketchy. What happened to you over there, Mr. Stark?”

…...............

Angel holds her breath watching, her fingers touching her lips in anticipation.

…................

Tony is pensive, he looks down slightly at his hand again, his fingers toying with the string. He closes his eyes. He opens his eyes and looks up again then the floodgates open.

“What happened over there?” Tony counter asks and takes a breath. “I had my eyes opened, that’s what happened. I saw my weapons, with my name on them, in the hands of thugs. I thought we were doing good here...I can’t say that anymore”

“What do you intend to do about it, Mr. Stark?”

“The system is broken -- there’s no accountability whatsoever. Right now, as of this second, we are freezing the sale of all Stark weaponry worldwide” Now the room is in chaos. Obadiah’s ready to wrap this up, and moves towards Tony. “We’ve lost our way. I need to re-evaluate things. And my heart’s telling me I have more to offer the planet than things that blow up”

….............

Angel finds herself smiling softly. A little swell of pride inside of her. Her eyes shifting to something new entirely. Chrysolite. Beautiful gleaming greeny-blue.

…..............

“So you’re saying...what are you saying?” a reporter asks Tony, Tony sets his arm around Stane.

“In the coming months, Mr. Stane here and I will set a new course for Stark Industries. 'Tomorrow Today' has always been our slogan. It’s time we try to live up to it” Tony announces. The questions are now firing in a fast cacophony. Obadiah takes the podium.

“Okay, I think we’re going to be selling a lot of newspapers here. What we should take away from this is that Tony’s back, he’s healthier than ever, and as soon as he heals up and takes some time off, we’re going to have a little internal discussion and get back to you. Thank you for coming by” Tony steps down, exhilarated. He works his way through the swarming reporters, his fingers clutching to the string. He can make a difference. Do something better....for her.

…..........

Angel had worried she left him behind to die. That she'd done the wrong thing. But he's alive. And he's safe. And in Los Angeles. She needs a map. A map. She looks around. Library. Libraries always have maps. She dodges a cyclist as she moves, almost tripping over the curb. She clutches to the sleeves of the hoody and tries to cross the road again. Succeeding this time.

…................

Later: Tony sighs leaning back on his sofa. Yes, he's back in the world of the living, he's back to regularly scheduled programming but at what cost? Angel. Yinsen. Why was he the only one to come out of that cave alive? He sure as hell didn't deserve it. She did. She should have been the one to survive. It should be here going home. Finding her family. He picks up the tablet from the table, a search for missing persons finishing, he's been looking for something since he came back, looking for any sign of Angel anywhere. But nothing that matches her search perimeters. No one that matches her appearance or age or....anything. It's almost as if she never existed, but he knows she did. He knows she was real. She has to have been.

…............

Angel leaves the library folding a map up and tucking it into the pouch pocket. She may have stolen it but she doesn't care. She needs to see Tony with her own eyes, in the flesh, just to make sure he's okay and then she can figure out her place in this world or disappear. She's not sure she can function properly, she's already struggled so much in the last few days, how is she supposed to survive alone?

 


	13. Chapter Nine

Black wings flap in the night sky of Malibu as Angel lands on a balcony of a house overlooking the sea. She has to admit she's getting used to flying. She's not sure why the others don't use their wings, it is proving to be the most convenient way of traveling. She likes it. The way the wind feels against her skin. The views. The quiet. If she could sleep in the air she damn well would do so. Her wings disappear and she touches the glass of the building. Just check on Tony. Just make sure he's alive and well and in one piece and she'll be okay with that. She takes a deep breath and checks the door handle. Unlocked. She releases the breath as she opens the door and slips inside closing it behind her. It's so dark inside but warm and welcoming.

…......

Later: As Tony is working on something in his garage slash lab, something new, something exciting. Designs of which are all over the screens in front of him. Various looks and appearances.

“There's an intruder, sir” Tony sits up and glares a little at Jarvis' announces.

“How did they get in?” he asks.

“Through the balcony” Jarvis answers. “It's not locked because...”

“Because it's like 500ft above open ocean?” Tony asks mockingly. “I told you we need security on that door” he grumbles standing from his chair. “But oh no, no one would be stupid enough to climb all that way” he mocks as he grabs his cell phone from the side, just in case. “We're having serious words in the morning” He warns and heads away from his computer.

…...........

Tony rubs his eyes as he ventures upstairs.

“I'm going to blame you, buddy, if this intruder kills me”

“Highly unlikely” Jarvis states, Tony pulls a confused face and then steps into the upper main level. He looks around. The fridge door is open, there are empty food wrappers all over the counter and his tv is on.

“What is this some kind of teenager?” he asks and sighs before heading towards the tv. His eyes widen, his steps slowing. His heart beating heavily in his chest. The intruder is sat cross-legged in front of his tv. Her hair is a bird's nest, her face is still covered in blood and dirt but he knows it's her. She chuckles a little, eyes locked on the tv and Tony smiles subconsciously. She's laughing at something stupid. It's something so very human. Her eyes shift between apple green of pure happiness and peridot of amusement. He's never seen her look more beautiful. “Angel” he whispers. She jumps slightly as she is caught out, her eyes shifting back to the alarmed amber. She looks to him, eyes wide. They move to the chocolate in her hand and she licks her lips as she lowers the chocolate bar from her lips.

“Sorry” she states quickly and holds out the chocolate bar. “I'm sorry” he shakes his head. “Sorry” she adds. “I didn't mean to..”

“No, no, it's okay, sweetheart” he assures her softly. “You can have it, you can have all the chocolate you want” he steps closer to her. Her eyes are changing between vintage rose and emerald bohemian, sentiment and excited. She's so pleased to see him, so happy to see him. “You're alive” he states, she cocks her head.

“Why wouldn't I be?” she asks him.

“I thought...” he shakes his head and moves closer to her. “It doesn't matter now” he looks over her, checking for injury, she's skinny, so very skinny and dirty. “Where have you been?” he asks her sitting beside her.

“New York” she answers picking at the chocolate. “I saw you on the...small version of that” she motions to the tv on the wall, he smiles at her. So relieved, but still worried about her. She looks so different out of the cave. Smaller. Fragile. “I only wanted to check on you” she admits pulling her sleeves down over her hands. “But then I saw your fridge and...and I was so hungry” she looks to the tv. “Then the voice in the sky put on the picture box” she whispers, Tony chuckles and smiles.

“That's Jarvis,” he tells her. “And it's a tv”

“Tv” she whispers testing the word.

“Have you only been eating candy?” he asks noting the sweet and chocolate wrappers around her.

“You have a lot of candy” she answers, he nods.

“Yeah, I did” he teases lightly.

“I like it” she admits quietly. “But I don't feel very well”

“Yeah, that'll do it,” he tells her reaching for her arm, she flinches and he stops dropping his hand. “How did you even get in here?” she points to the open balcony doors.

“I flew” she admits, he frowns at her.

“What?” he asks her, she turns to him.

“I flew....with wings” she answers. “Like everyone”

“No, no, not everyone has wings, Angel, no one does”

“Oh” she breaths and looks away from him. “They don't?” she whispers, he shakes his head. Tony seems thoughtful as he watches her finish her chocolate bar.

“You know what?” he starts. “Why don't you stay here?” he asks her. “Take a shower, some clean clothes...I'll order some proper food” she glances to him.

“Why?” she asks him. “What do you want?”

“Nothing” he is quick to answers. “I just want to make sure you're okay” she looks down at her hands and then nods. “Good girl” he then smirks. “The voice in the sky will show you the way, right, Jarvis?”

“Of course, sir” Jarvis answers, Angel looks around for the source, as she has every time he's spoken to her. “Miss Angel, if you would take the stairs to the floor above” she looks to Tony who nods encouraging her. She stands on shaky feet and follows Jarvis' instructions. Tony watches her go, her steps unsure, her entire being uneasy as she climbs the stairs. He waits till she is out of sight before grabbing his cell phone from his pocket. He dials.

“Pepper, it's Tony” he states when she picks up.

“It's 3 am” Pepper complains down the phone, her sleep interrupted by her boss.

“I need your help” Tony admits, Pepper knows this is serious, Tony never admits to needing help, usually she has to use her none existent mind-reading powers to deduct what he needs and wants.

“Tell me” Pepper states softly.

“I need women's clothing, small, whatever you can get, and pick up some food, whatever is open, Chinese, Indian, Thai, Italian. As much as you can carry”

“Are you serious?” Pepper asks, assuming that this is one of Tony's hookups, she deals with them a lot.

“It's not that” Tony answers. “It's Angel, she's here”

“Wait” Pepper sits up. “The Angel? I thought you said she was dead?”

“She's not, but she needs us, Pepper...can you, please, do that for me?”

“Of course” Pepper assures him. Tony had been very vocal about them going back for Angel's body when he was picked up. Rhodey said it was all he went on about on the flight back. About going back for Angel. They thought her a hallucination. But they humored him. “I'll get there as soon as I can,” Pepper tells him before hanging up. Tony takes a breath and relaxes subconsciously, he's been holding on to a lot since her death, but it was unnecessary. She's alive.

 


	14. Chapter Ten

Pepper sets a takeaway bag on the counter next to where she's already set a shopping bag of clothing. She'd called in some favors with some stores that Tony frequents, just to get them to open for some early morning shopping. Tony stands on the other side of the counter pulling bags closer to him to rifle through.

“So where is she?” Pepper asks looking back over her shoulder seeking out Angel.

“Upstairs taking a shower” Tony answers pulling the food boxes from the bag.

“I have to admit that...I thought she wasn't real” Pepper tells him quietly.

“Duh,” Tony states. “I noticed” he looks to her. “Thought that myself a few times actually” he admits.

“How is she?”

“She looks tired..hungry...scared”

“That explains the candy wrappers” Pepper comments, Tony smiles a little. “Do you have any idea who she is yet?” Pepper asks unpacking the clothing, he shrugs and shakes his head.

“No” he answers. “Tried all sort of searches but nothing....”

“Someone has to be missing her” Pepper points out.

“You'd think” he mumbles grabbing a bowl from the cabinet to serve food for Angel. “Can you check on her?” Tony asks. “Take her some clothes”

“Sure” Pepper answers picking up a couple of pieces of clothing.

…...........

Pepper stand in the bedroom doorway as Angel leaves the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her body. She pauses like a deer caught in headlights, her eyes instantly turning to the browny orange of caution, seeing Pepper, the older woman smiles softly at her, trying to reassure her. Pepper can see why Tony is so worried about her. She looks exhausted, skinny, lost.

“I'm Pepper,” she tells the girl who watches her cautiously.

“Pepper” she repeats quietly, remembering Tony talking to her about it, something inside of her telling her it's okay to trust this woman. Her eyes soften slightly taking on a more yellow tinge as her hunger overrides everything else, they flick slightly and whirl with a dark blue, showing she's tired before flickering back. They can't seem to settle, to make up their mind.

“I have some clean clothes for you” Pepper offers before setting the pile of clothing on the bed for her. “And Tony has some food downstairs” Angel's eyes track Pepper. “How was the shower?”

“Warm” Angel answers. “I liked it” she whispers.

“Yeah” Pepper counters with a smile.

“Why are you doing this?” Angel asks her, Pepper frowns at her.

“Why am I helping you?” Pepper counters, Angel nods. “Why wouldn't I?” Pepper asks her softly. Angel shrugs as she pulls her fingers through her hair attempting to pull out the knots. Pepper shakes her head and moves to the dresser where she picks up a brush.

“Here” Pepper motions to the dresser chair, Angel searches her eyes and then takes the seat. “You haven't had the best view of people have you?” Pepper asks her softly as she picks up the hairbrush to help Angel.

“I don't remember” Angel answers. Pepper pulls Angel's hair between her fingers and then brushes through it. “The men in that cave weren't very nice” she admits.

“No, they weren't” Pepper agrees softly.

“They shot at me,” Angel tells her looking in the mirror, watching Pepper's reflection. Pepper looks down at her.

“Did they get you?” Pepper asks touching her shoulder and moving to her side.

“A few” Angel whispers.

“Are you hurt?” Pepper asks, Angel shakes her head.

“No, they went away” Angel answers, Pepper watches her sadly before she goes back to brushing Angel's hair.

…......................

“Well, what do you think?” Pepper asks Tony who turns to face her and Angel stood across the counter from him. Angel's all clean and dressed in something normal, all Tony's seen her in is rags and that oversized hoodie. This is real clothing. Jeans. A button-up shirt in a lovely shade of dark red.

“You look” he starts only to stop as he searches for the right words, words that aren't going to freak her out. “Better” he settles on. “You look much better” Tony can't stop staring, he actually can't pull his eyes away from her. Without the dirt, mud, and blood she's a very attractive young woman.

“Tony” Pepper warns. He finally draws his eyes away from Angel and to his assistant. “Food” She pushes giving him a look. He can't go there with her. Angel's too new, too fresh to the world, too naïve right now, Tony can't touch her. Even if she would let him, which Pepper doubts, she flinched under Pepper's touch, so this girl has been hurt, even if she can't remember it, her body and soul sure do.

“Right, food” Tony sets the bowl of food in front of Angel who tugs the sleeve of her shirt down her arms. The clothing is welcome and appreciated but not something she would ever pick out for herself. She liked being swaddled by that hoodie, it made her feel safe. She feels so exposed in these clothes.

“Tony” Pepper states, he looks to her, she nods away from Angel and then walks away, Tony sets the serving spoon down and then joins her.

“What?” Tony asks her.

“Maybe she should stay with me,” Pepper tells Tony who frowns at her. “Just till she's feeling better”

“But...” Tony starts before he realizes that Pepper is right. Angel isn't comfortable around men, and her memories with Tony aren't exactly sunshine and puppies. If he wants her to truly trust him, he has to put a distance between them, give her space that is hers and only hers. She won't feel like that in his house.

“And if people ask, we can say she's my niece, at least until we can find her real family” Tony lets out a breath and nods.

“Yeah, okay....” He whispers dejectedly.

“I know you want her around” Pepper assures him. “And I'm not saying don't spend time with her, she needs to know that there are people around her that care about her, just give her time to heal as well”

“What about her memories?” Tony asks.

“I'll look into hypnotherapy or something” Pepper offers. “Find a good, trustworthy therapist for her to talk to. She needs to learn how to be a person again, she needs to find out who she is”

“Yeah” Tony agrees and then approaches Angel. “Hey” she looks to him and raises an eyebrow. “So...You're gonna stay with Pepper,” Tony tells her, she watches him a moment and then frowns. “She thought you might prefer it. Having another woman around....not a gross, stinky man” she smiles a little, amusement swirling in her eyes. “Doesn't mean you can't come back and visit though, I would actually like it”

“You would?” she asks him, he nods and gives her a sad smile. He hates that she second-guesses everything they tell her. He hates how young and broken it makes her seem.

“Course I would” he assures her. “I promised you I'd find your family” he reminds her softly. “And I'm going to do it” he gives her a smile, she nods back. “You want some more food?” he asks noting her empty bowl.

“Oh, it's okay” she whispers.

“You can have as much as you want” Pepper assures her. Angel looks to her, her eyes questioning her. Pepper nods reassuringly.

“So is that a yay on more food?” Tony asks looking between them, Angel nods. Tony turns back to the other counter to grab some more food.

“Tony?” she asks, he hums and turns to her. “What happened to Yinsen?” she asks him, his features twist a little and he clears his throat.

“Sorry, Angel but he didn't make” she looks away from him as he sets a new bowl in front of her.

“Oh,” she breathes and fiddles with her sleeves a little as her eyes start to turn black. Tony's never seen them go that color before, it's...impressive and terrifying at the same time. She looks down at her food and sighs. “Well...at least he's with his family” she whispers, Tony cocks his head.

“How did you know his family was dead?” he asks her, she glances back at him.

“You could hear it in his voice” she answers. “Whenever he spoke about them....or he'd get this look in his eyes” she explains. “Like he had lost the most precious thing in the world...it wasn't hard to figure out just what he had lost” Tony watches her a moment, surprised by the depth of that, and her observation skills, even Tony didn't know until the end.

 


	15. Chapter Eleven

Tony doesn't want Angel to leave, he doesn't, but Pepper is right, Angel won't get better with him around her. She needs to feel safe and she won't around a man, even him. So she has to go. And at least it's with Pepper. Someone he trusts. Someone he knows will look after her. Angel tugs a jacket around her body as she steps out of the house to join Tony who stands on the doorstep watching Pepper set a few things in her car trunk. Tony looks to Angel as she stops at his side. Tony gives her a small smile and notes the color of her eyes. A deep dark sapphire blue holding so much sadness. He knows she's not exactly a happy girl, but something about the way she's looking at him makes it hurt.

“It's going to be okay, Angel” he assures her as Pepper sets a bag of Angel's new clothing into her car. “Pep's gonna look after you”

“And I can come back?” Angel asks him, he nods.

“You know it” he assures her. “I'll leave the balcony open for you” he adds reaching for her hand before stopping, remembering, he drops his hand. “And I'll keep looking for your family” he promises her softly. “Someone has to be missing you” she shrugs.

“It's okay” she whispers with a smile. He frowns at her. “I have Pepper” she elaborates, he smiles a little and nods. “And you” she adds.

“Yeah” Tony agrees softly.

“You ready, Sweetheart?” Pepper asks, Angel nods and steps towards the car and away from Tony who watches her walk away. His spunky little friend that survived the cave. Pepper opens the back passenger car door for Angel before approaching Tony. “She's going to okay” Pepper assures Tony who nods and clears his throat.

“Just....weird, you know...” Tony admits, she raises an eyebrow at him. “I feel bad” he whispers. “I don't know why they had her, I don't know why they took her....I don't understand why her” Pepper smiles softly. She knows Tony hates not knowing about anything. And he can't find the answers he wants here. He can't hack for answers. No database has any. He can't...figure this out and it's bothering him that he can't help this young woman. He couldn't save Yinsen, but he can try to save Angel, he can try to get her home to her family. But without answers.....he can't. It frustrates him.

“We'll figure it out” Pepper assures him. “I'll set up an appointment with a therapist, as soon as I can”

“Yeah” Tony agrees. He knows that whilst he would never seek professional help, what's going on with Angel is beyond anyone without training. She needs help. To heal. To remember. “Thanks, Pepper,” He tells her, she nods.

“It's my job to look after you” she admits. “And you're worried about her, so....it's my job to look after her, and I want to. She seems like a nice kid...I'll call you tomorrow, let you know how it's going”

“Yeah, yeah, take a few days with her....” Tony offers, she nods and then heads to the car, closing the car door before climbing in and looking back at Angel who is sat curled up on the back seat. Pepper offers her a warm smile before starting the car. Angel shifts slightly and turns to the window to look back out at Tony. He waves at her and she waves back, smaller, she looks so small. Tony lets out a breath as Pepper drives away before he heads back into his home. It's so quiet now. Angel isn't watching something silly on the tv, she's not laughing, or opening candy bars. Tony hangs his head and then shakes it.

…............

Tony drops into a seat in his garage and pushes himself and it towards the desk where his computer lights up coming to life. Tony brushes his fingers through his hair and shakes it out before clapping his hand together.

“Bring up all the snaps you got,” Tony tells Jarvis as he turns around on his chair, spins really. A group of photos comes up on the screen behind him, shots of Angel's eyes. Because Tony knows. “You see a pattern, buddy?” he asks turning back to the screen.

“I believe Miss Angel's eyes changed depending on her mood” Jarvis admits, Tony raises an eyebrow and looks to the data that comes up. Body temp, body language, heart rate. It does match up.

“Mood eyes” Tony whispers. “Groovy” he teases leaning back. “Got anything else for me?” he asks.

“None, Sir” Jarvis answers.

“You were running 15 different searches for missing people from across the entire world” Tony scolds. “You got nothing?”

“Nothing” Jarvis agrees.

“Well....who the hell is she?” Tony asks leaning his elbows on the desk. Angel is a mystery. The most mysterious mystery to have ever been. And he hates losing.

…............

Pepper's apartment is modest but nice. Larger than she needs but not by much. Her walls are covered in photos of her family and friends. Angel notes all this as Pepper leads her through to the backroom, the spare bedroom, her new bedroom. It's simple. A bed. A dresser. A mirror. A small set of French doors leading onto a balcony, which will come in handy if she wants to fly.

“I know it's not much,” Pepper tells Angel as she approaches the bed before smiling and bouncing onto it, flopping onto her back. Pepper smiles warmly, twinged with sadness knowing that this young woman has never known care. Not in her memories at least. Angel sits up and looks to Pepper.

“Thank you,” Angel tells her as her eyes turn a dark pale pink. Affection. Angel feels affection towards this woman. Pepper is a good person, Angel can see that. Can see that she can trust her.

“Do you need anything?” Pepper asks her, Angel shakes her head.

“No, I just want to sleep” Pepper nods.

“Okay, I'll leave you to it, if you do need anything...just ask me,” Pepper tells her softly and then leaves Angel alone, closing the door behind her. Angel lays back on the bed and curls up on the top with a deep sigh. Soft bed. When was the last time she slept on a soft bed in an actual home with walls and windows? She doesn't even remember. Angel wraps her arms around herself and starts to cry, her eyes turning sapphire blue with her sadness.

 

 


	16. Chapter Twelve

 

Not wanting to be a burden to Tony, Angel stays away. She doesn't fly to him. She doesn't want to bother him, and she's fine here with Pepper. She's been looking after her. Keeping her fed. She's fine. Just fine. Pepper pulls on her blazer behind where Angel sits. Pepper knows why she's doing keeping herself away from Tony. She also knows that the girl is being ridiculous and that Tony could use the distraction. And Angel needs the company especially when Pepper is out at work all day. It's only been a few days but she can see that the longer Angel is away from Tony the more withdrawn she gets. They spent so much time together that being apart would be hard.

“Are you sure you don't want to come with me?” Pepper asks Angel who barely looks up from the tv in front of her. She's been spending hours every day sat on the couch watching the tv and eating junk food. Pepper wants to scold her on it, but she knows Angel is still recovering and she needs to find the things that make her comfortable. Angel shakes her head and sips on the cola can in her hand. Pepper swears it's like living with a teenager. Angel loves anything sweet. Candy. Soda. Pepper has been finding it hard to get a real meal inside of her and she's trying to be a good caretaker, this girl's health and well-being are in her hands. And she thinks Angel seeing Tony would help her. “I'll be back later,” Pepper tells her. “And tonight you've got your first meeting with that psychiatrist” Angel looks up now, brushing her hand over her lips.

“What do I tell them?” She asks, Pepper sits next to her and brushes Angel's hair back a little.

“The truth” Pepper answers. “Okay, they're not there to judge you.....and whatever you tell them, they can't tell anyone else” Angel looks thoughtful. “And then tomorrow, we're going to go see a hypnotherapist, to try and help you get your memories back” Pepper offers. “Hopefully, this time next week, you'll be eating breakfast with your family” Angel tries to smile but she's terrified, what if her family isn't looking for her? What if they were involved in her going missing in the first place? What if they don't care? Maybe she should just stay with Pepper.

….................

Pepper knocks on Tony's bedroom door before letting herself in. The bed is untouched. The flatscreen TV is on -- Jim Cramer delivering a sermon.

“Stark International: I’ve got one recommendation. Ready? SEELLLL! Abandon ship! Does the Hindenburg ring any bells?” Cramer pushes one of his big red buttons followed by the sounds of shrieking. Pepper shuts it off as she talks on the phone and heads out again closing the door behind her. Pepper clicks on her headset as she heads down the stairs towards the living room.

“Hello. This is Agent Coulson with Strategic Homeland Inter.....”

“Yes. I remember” Pepper interrupts. “What can I do for you?”

“I’ve left a number of messages trying to get something on the books with Mr. Stark”

“I know this is a priority for him. The next few weeks are a bit up in the air and I can’t set appointments without speaking with him first”

“Do you know when you will be speaking with him again?” Coulson asks.

“Not sure” Pepper is interrupted by the intercom. It’s Tony.

“Pepper? How big are your hands?”

“What was that?” Coulson asks Pepper.

“Agent Coulson, I really have to go. Let me get back to you later” Pepper hangs up and then moves to the intercom. “What?”

“How big are your hands?” Tony repeats.

“I don’t under...”

"Just get down here” Tony interrupts her. Pepper sighs and shakes her head.

…............

Tony's workshop is dim and unsettling. Pepper finds Tony shirtless in a chair, she sees his chest device for the first time and steels herself.

“Show me your hands,” Tony tells her.

“What?”

“Just show me your hands” Pepper holds up her hands in front of Tony. “Perfect, they’re small. I need you to help me”

“So that’s the thing that’s keeping you alive?” Pepper asks staring at the chest device.

“That’s the thing that was keeping me alive. It is now an antique. This is what will be keeping me alive for the foreseeable future” He hold up the newly fabricated, higher-tech replacement chest piece. “I’m going to swap them out and switch all functions to the new unit”

“Is it safe?” Pepper asks.

“Completely. First I need you to reach in and...”

“Reach in to where?” Pepper interrupts quickly.

“The socket” Tony answers.

“What socket?”

“The chest socket. Listen carefully, because we have to do this in a matter of minutes”

“Or else what?” Pepper asks alarmed.

“I can go into cardiac arrest”

“I thought you said it was safe”

“I didn’t want you to panic”

“Oh my god...” Pepper does start to panic.

“If you can't do it, send Angel down...” Tony tells her, Pepper gives him a sad look.

“She didn't come with me” Pepper admits.

“Oh,” Tony whispers and then clears his throat.

“I did ask her” Pepper assures him. “She's just...adjusting” she offers.

“Okay” Tony nods a little, trying to hide his disappointment, he was hoping for something since she left, but....nothing. “Well, then I need you to relieve the pressure on my myocardial nerve” Tony admits.

“I don’t know how to do that”

“I’m telling you” Tony turns to her. “I’m going to lift off the old chest piece...When I lift it off I need you to reach into the socket as far as your hand can fit and gently move the housing away from my heart. Do you know which direction that is?”

“To the right” Pepper answers.

“To my right. Your left” Tony corrects and then lifts out the old chest piece. Pepper begins to reach into the cavity. “Keep going” Tony pushes. She reaches uncomfortably deep. “That’s it. Deeper. Now press. Yes. It’s releasing” She pulls her hand out covered in a nasty pink slime.

“Ew!!! Pus!”

“It’s not pus. It’s an inorganic plasmic discharge. It’s from the device, not my body” Tony argues.

“Well, it smells. Am I done?” Pepper asks him.

“Yes. Thank you”

“Can I wash my hands now?” Pepper walks to the sink as Tony drops a drain into the opening.

“The new unit is much more efficient. This shouldn’t happen again”

“Good, 'cause it’s not in my job description” Pepper complains.

“It is now”

“I don’t suppose you want to go over things?” The robot arm sets in the new heart piece into place.

“Can it at least wait until I install my new untested groundbreaking self-contained power source and lifesaving device prototype?”

“I suppose” Pepper agrees before she picks up the old chest piece and turns it around in her hand.

“Throw that thing out,” Tony tells her.

“Don’t you want to save it?” Pepper asks.

“Why? It’s antiquated”

“You made it out of spare parts in a dungeon. It saved your life” Pepper argues and looks at him. “Doesn’t it at least have some nostalgic value?”

“Pepper. I have been called many things. Nostalgic is not one of them” The new chest lights brightly. “There. Good as new. Thank you”

“You’re welcome,” Pepper tells him and then sighs. “I have to go, will you be okay by yourself for the rest of the day?”

“Where are you going?”

“Shopping” Pepper answers. “I want to get Angel some things for her room, make it more..... personalized, and then she's got her first therapy session”

“With who?” Tony asks moving to his computer.

“So you can run a background check?” She asks him, Tony shrugs a little. “I already did that” Pepper admits, Tony smirks a little. “She checks out...one of the best. And I will be taking tomorrow off for her appointment with the hypnotherapist” Pepper adds. “Hopefully we can get some answers to her memory issues. Have you found anything?”

“No” Tony answers. “Nothing....how can no one be missing her, Pepper?”

“How far back have you gone?” Pepper asks, Tony frowns at her.

“Why?”

“The way she is” Pepper answers. “Maybe...she was taken as a child” she explains, Tony looks to his computer. “Maybe....the reason you can't find her is because....”

“I'm looking for an adult” Tony finishes with the realisation that Pepper might be right. “And not a child” Tony reaches up and pulls off his glasses before rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“We don't know how long they had her” Pepper adds. “Or if they were the first ones to have her....” Tony shoots her a look at her choice of words. “You know what I mean....with human trafficking, if this is what it is, teenagers and young women....”

“Yeah” Tony stops her. “Yeah, I get it” He sets his glasses back onto his nose. He's tried not to think about what Angel could have gone through before he met her. He doesn't want to think about that. Pepper touches his shoulder and he looks up at her.

“She'll be okay” Pepper offers. “She's tough.....she has to be, she's made it this far” Tony nods a little. “And she has us” Pepper adds before walking away. Tony takes a breath and looks at his computer search. He needs to adjust his search vectors.

…........

Angel's feet are soft and silent as they touch down onto the balcony, her wings disappearing from her back. The door opens when she tries it, letting herself in and closes the door behind her. She's not really sure what she's doing here. Only that she doesn't like the therapist and she doesn't like talking about herself to people and she doesn't want to go back. So she goes somewhere safe instead. And to her...Tony is safe. She sinks down onto the couch and curls up, resting her head on the pillow at the end. She instantly feels better. Not that living with Pepper isn't fine, she's nice enough, but she feels trapped. 

 


	17. Chapter Thirteen

Tony grabs the blanket from the back of the couch before he crouches in front of Angel as she sleeps. She looks so peaceful, so young when she's relaxed like this. Part of him loves that she feels safe enough to sleep like this with him, in his house. Part of him knows she should be at Pepper's. He reaches out to brush her hair back from her face, his fingers only just grazing her cheeks when her eyes snap open. She grabs his wrist and his throat to hold him away from her, he gives her a tense smile as her eyes settle on him. She instantly releases him and scoots away.

“I'm sorry” she whispers, upset with herself.

“Hey” he scolds and shakes his head. “It's my fault” he sits on the edge of the coffee table. “What are you doing here?” he asks her softly. She sniffles and pulls the blanket closer to her.

“I couldn't sleep” she admits under her breath.

“Do you not like it at Pepper's?” she shrugs a little and looks down at the blanket.

“She's fine” she answers. “It's just....feels wrong” she looks up at him. “I like being here” she admits, sure of her answer, because she does feel better here, with him. He's familiar. He gives her a small smile.

“How was therapy?” she pulls a face at the question and shrugs, he smirks a little. “Not really one for talking about your feelings and stuff, huh?” he asks her.

“It doesn't help” she whispers. “Just...makes me angry” she sighs and lifts her eyes to meet his. “Because I don't remember stuff....”

“Yeah, that's going to be a bit of a wall” he agrees as he rests his elbows on his knees. “What about that hypno guy?” he asks. “Did it not work?”

“No” She answers down heartened. “Nothing happened....no memories, no...nothing” she pulls her knees to her chest. “Maybe I'm not meant to get them back” she huffs a little and shrugs. “Maybe it doesn't matter anymore”

“What do you mean?” he asks as he leans closer to her.

“Well..whatever my life was before, is it worth going back to? No one is looking for me, no family, no friends....my life must have been horribly lonely, maybe whatever happened to me, I volunteered” he shakes his head.

“No, no, I don't believe that” he argues, she snorts and shakes her head. “Come on” he scolds. “You're not stupid,” he tells her. “You would never agree to be some....lab rat” she glances at him. “You just wouldn't....”

“How do you know?” she asks him. “How can you be so sure that....that I'm not a bad person?”

“Because you're not” he answers. “Because.....because you just don't seem the type”

“I could have been” she argues. “Before whatever happened happened...I could have deserved this” he shakes his head before meeting her eyes, watching the colors swirl and change rapidly with her mood, her pain.

“No one deserves to forget who they are” Tony argues. She sniffles before standing, letting the blanket fall back to the couch. She's fleeing. He stands and follows her as she walks to the balcony doors, brushing the back of her hand over her cheek to remove the tears falling. Her wings snap open against her back and Tony stumbles back a little in surprise, his eyes widening as he stares at the huge wingspan. She sniffles and pulls them closer to her so she can step through the door. Tony follows her, grabs her arm, she whirls on him, eyes dangerous before she softens realizing it's only Tony. “How did you do that?” he asks her, his eyes tracing her wings. “What...what happened?” she shoots him a look.

“I don't remember” she reminds him.

“Come with me” he pulls on her arm softly, his intention clear, but he knows it has to be her choice. “Let me look at them” he adds searching her eyes, Angel sighs and then nods a little. Tony releases her arm and lets her walk back into the room, the wings disappearing in a plume of black dust, Tony lets out an impressed and awe breath as he follows her. “How does it work?” he asks her, she glances back at him.

“I don't know” she answers. “I think about it and...they happen” she motions with her hands, Tony motions to the stairs leading down to his workshop.

“This way” he steers her along. “Does it hurt?”

“No” she answers. “Tickles a little but...no, no pain...where are we going?” she asks staring down the stairs into the dark, Tony turns to face her.

“Just my workshop” he notes the fear on her face. “Hey, I'm not going to hurt you” he promises her. “There's just more space down there” she worries her lip, her fingers grasping at the bottom of her sleeve. “Want me to turn on the lights?” she nods a little. “Jarvis” Tony states and the lights instantly switch on down the stairs. “There, see....” Tony gives Angel a smile and then heads down the stairs first, leaving it up to her if she follows him. She takes a deep breath, standing up taller, before she does. Her hand clutching to the stair rail as she moves, her fear threatening to floor her. Tony pauses at the bottom waiting for her. Relaxed as he leans back against the railing to watch her. She's slow, hesitant. He knows she's afraid of basically everything. 

 


	18. Chapter Fourteen

Tony pulls a stool across the workshop and sets it in front of him. He looks to Angel as she nervously makes her way towards him. He pats the seat and she glances around, it's not that she doesn't have some trust with Tony, she's just got a sick feeling in her stomach about the thought of someone touching her wings. It fills her with dread and paralyzing fear. Angel sits on the chair and rests her hands in her lap, fingers tightly curled together. He gives her a small smile and she nods. He can see her nerves. And he knows what that means. She might not have her memories, but her body and soul remember what has happened to her. Someone has hurt her. Physically hurt her. She turns on the chair so her back is to Tony, she takes a breath and closes her eyes before her wings erupt from her back. Her heart is in her ears. Something about this is screaming at her. That she shouldn't be doing it. Shouldn't be letting it happen. Tony's hand barely touches her wings before she can't take it anymore.

“No!” She snaps and flaps her wings which send Tony to his backside in surprise. Her wings snap away as she scrambles away from him and under the desk, she curls around herself, trying to make herself as small as possible. Pain. It's all she can feel. All she can think about. Even though Tony hasn't hurt her. Far from it. He was gentle and soft and she shouldn't fear him but the second he touched her wings, it was like...instinct.

“Hey, it's me” Tony whispers as he crouches in front of her. “It's just me” she lifts her eyes to meet his, hers swirl with the amber of distress. She's terrified. He gives her a sad smile. She leans up and wraps her arms around his neck, Tony wraps his own arm around her waist. She clings to him, seeking comfort in him. Tony just takes it. That she trusts him enough for this little moment of comfort, it means a lot. “I won't touch them” he promises her. “I shouldn't have asked,” he tells himself more than her. He takes a breath and closes his eyes as he holds her.

“I'm sorry” she whispers, he shakes his head and pulls back from her. “I don't know why I reacted like that” she brushes her hands over her face to remove her tears. Tony gives her a sad look. “I don't want to feel afraid all the time” She whispers as she stands. “And it is...all the time, every nose, every movement....” she threads her fingers through her hair and pulls a little as she lets out a frustrated growl.

“Stop that” he scolds reaching for her wrists to free her hair from the brutality. “I told you we'd figure it out” Tony reminds her. “And we will, you just have to patient, Angel, this isn't the sort of thing that is going to fix overnight” he softens his hold on her hands. “I know how much you want to know who you are, and why you have these....wings” he nods to her shoulders. “And why you ended up where you did, and I would love nothing more than to be able to list it all out for you” she looks down. “But it takes time...” she pulls her hands free, this isn't what she wants to hear. She just wants the truth. “Angel” Tony states, she shakes her head and walks away from him, he knows not to follow, he can see she needs space, so he lets her go.

…...........

Angel sets a foot onto the balcony railing of Tony's mansion before leaping off, her wings snapping open to catch her, carrying her into the sky.

................

Pepper drapes her coat and her bag over the couch before approaching Tony where he sits with a screwdriver in his mouth, a pair of pliers in his hand as he works on something or other.

“Have you seen her?” Pepper asks, Tony raises an eyebrow. “Angel” she elaborates, Tony pulls the screwdriver from his mouth.

“Not today, no” Tony answers. “Why?”

“She wasn't there this morning, and I don't think her bed has been slept in, for a while.....” Tony grows more concerned now.

“Well, she was here a few nights ago and then left, I assumed to return to yours.....” he sets his tools and things down and stands. “You were supposed to be looking after her” he accuses.

“I am” Pepper argues. “But I was working late and forgot to check in on her last night.....Don't you have some way of tracking her?” Pepper asks.

“No” Tony answers. “No, I didn't even think to......she wouldn't have wanted that anyway”

“So how are we going to find her?” Pepper counters. She's grown attached to the young woman as much as Tony has. Tony sighs and shakes his head.

“I don't know” he admits sadly. “We wait, I guess, hope that she'll come back” Pepper shakes her head.

“No, that's not good enough” She snaps at him. Tony looks at her surprised. “Tony, she was kidnapped and locked away.....what if they've got her again? What if they are hurting her again?” she looks down and frowns to herself. Tony moves closer to her.

“I'm sure she's fine” Tony tries to comfort her. “I'll have Jarvis run whatever searches he can...” Pepper nods a little and sighs.

 


End file.
